


Sweeter than Sugar

by yukjaem



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Baking, Christmas, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mistletoe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 06:49:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13118331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yukjaem/pseuds/yukjaem
Summary: "Changbin hyung, you truly are sweeter than sugar."—a changlix christmas fic





	Sweeter than Sugar

**Author's Note:**

> for straykidschristmas2017
> 
> ( side note : all the members are aged up to fit the college au, but it doesn't make a difference in the fic overall. )

_Knock knock knock_

 

It's 8:03 am.

 

Changbin has a ground rule that no matter the emergency, he will never get up before noon on a Saturday. Why? Because waking up early after partying all night is a sin in itself, and even then, he prefers to stretch out on his bed and contemplate deep thoughts. Then, maybe, he'd get out of bed.

 

_Knock knock knock_

 

So, why, for God's sake, is someone still knocking on the door? And where are his stupid roommates when he needs them?

 

"Hyunjin," he calls out, and he winces at his voice, rusty from sleep.

 

_Knock knock knock_

 

"Jeongin ah!"

 

There's no reply, no movement, no sign of life in the room.

 

“Freaking useless,” Changbin mutters underneath his breath as he pulls himself up, hair mussed and eyes bleary. “I need to invest in getting new roommates.”

 

With a reluctant sigh, he frees himself from the warm confines of his bed and trudges to the door. He takes a brief second to pause in front of the mirror. Saying that he looks awful would be a huge understatement. Changbin grimaces at his reflection and plucks a black cap from the dresser, putting it on in a poor attempt to cover his bed head--and maybe hide his eye bags… He looks worse.

 

Whoever’s at the door still hasn’t given up, and Changbin swears, if it’s a hungover Jisung seeking shelter in the morning, he’s slamming the door shut in that fucker’s face. No one, and he means, no _one,_ messes with his beauty sleep.

 

_Knock knock knock_

 

“Oh, for the love of--”

 

He pauses mid-sentence as he swings the door open; the chrome hallway lights nearly blind him. He closes his eyes on instinct, takes a deep breath and opens his eyes. A tall blond guy, probably around his age, smiles down at him. He’s kind of cute (really cute), with his blue beanie, sparkling brown eyes and freckles sprinkling over his cheeks.

 

"--shit," Changbin breathes out.

 

“Hi, I’m really sorry to bother you, but I’m baking gingerbread cookies for a Christmas party that I’m hosting tonight, and I’m kind of in a rush but somehow, I ran out of sugar so,” the stranger inhales, “I’m wondering if you have any sugar that I can use?”

 

The guy has a startling deep voice, smooth like honey, and Changbin blinks. “What?”

 

“Oh my God, I forgot to introduce myself, sorry. My name’s Felix,” Felix sticks out his hand, to which Changbin can only look down at, baffled, “Felix Lee or Lee Felix, whatever floats your boat. Freshman in uni and um, I live, like, a floor underneath you. We’re technically floor-neighbours!”

 

Changbin shakes his hand numbly. “Seo Changbin, second year.” _It’s too early for this._

 

“Oh, so can I call you hyung?” Felix asks. Without waiting for a reply, he continues, “Do you have any sugar, hyung?” He peeks over Changbin's shoulder. Changbin doesn’t need to turn around to see that his room is dark, gloomy and depressing. “Sorry to bother you. Hyunjin didn't mention he had a roommate.”

 

“Hyunjin?”

 

“Hyunjin texted me his room number and said I could come over. He said he'd have su--" He startles as Changbin inches the door shut. "Um?"

 

“Don’t have sugar. Don’t know a Hyunjin. Sorry, wrong room,” he lies through gritted teeth. His heart does a little tug when Felix’s smile dims, but he doesn’t have the time to feel guilty, not when the cold reality is settling into his stomach.

 

Hwang fucking Hyunjin. He and Jisung were the ones who had dragged him out to the party last night; they had blabbered on about finding him a boyfriend (then got defensive whenever a stranger approached him), and at the end of the long night, they had patted his back and told him not to worry; they had something planned. Now, Changbin's sure that this, whatever this is, is all a part of their plan. Poor Jeongin probably got dragged into this as well.

 

He turns back a second too late. Two bodies barrel into him, pushing him into a flustered Felix, and they fall to the ground. His hands land on either side of Felix’s head, and he barely manages to stop his face from crashing into the latter's. Their noses, however, are a mere inch away, which is way too close for comfort.

 

Changbin starts, “I am going to _kill_ \--”

 

“Hey, Felix,” Hyunjin cuts him off, amusement clearly laced in his voice. “You ran out of sugar, right?”

 

“And you told me you had some!” Felix accuses. He looks up at Changbin, their gazes meet, and he quickly looks away, a faint blush dusting over his freckled cheeks. Changbin should get up, but his limbs aren’t cooperating for some reason.

 

“We do,” Hyunjin chirps, and Changbin hears a small squeak of agreement coming from Jeongin. So both of his roommates are in on this. _Great._ “As you can see, Changbin hyung may appear grumpy and dark, but in reality, he's just a big softie.”

 

“In fact,” Jeongin says, as if he's reciting the lines of a script, “some might even say, he's sweeter than sugar.”

 

“And he's all you need to bake those cookies,” finishes Jisung, popping out from God knows where. He cheekily pats Changbin's butt before skipping away.

 

Changbin blinks, still unable to move. “You are all dead to me. Specifically you, Hyunjin; I'm going to kill you.”

 

The threat of homicide seems to go unnoticed as Hyunjin laughs good-naturedly and retreats into their room.

 

“Have fun,” he sings. “This is your early Christmas gift for both you and Felix, appreciate it!”

 

He closes the door behind him, and it locks with a loud snap. Changbin is soon filled with a sense of dread when he realises he doesn't have his keys with him.

 

“Fuck.”

 

There's a beat of silence.

 

“Hey, Changbin hyung, can you, like, I don't know, maybe get off of me?”

 

Changbin jolts up (now his limbs decide to work?) and dusts down his sweatpants. It's only when he notices Felix staring up at him expectantly, does he offer him a hand.

 

They stand, side by side, awkwardly shifting on the balls of their feet.

 

“Sorry that I acted so rudely earlier,” Changbin speaks up. “I knew this would happen when you mentioned Hyunjin. He and Jisung--and I guess Jeongin now too--have always been on my case about getting a boyfriend.”

 

(And it's not just Hyunjin and Jisung. Every week, Woojin, Seungmin and Minho would come over and they'd all sit in a circle, praying for his love life. Changbin doesn't know why he's friends with any of them.)

 

“Nah, it's fine. I don't mind.” Felix scratches his ear. “If anything, I'm more worried about my gingerbread cookies.”

 

“How badly do you need them?”

 

“Pretty badly, hyung. I might as well cancel tonight's Christmas party if I can’t get my gingerbread cookies done by then.” He suddenly brightens up, blinding Changbin once again with the light of his presence. Has he already mentioned how it’s too early in the morning for this?

 

Felix grasps both of Changbin’s hands and holds them close to his chest, sparkling eyes never leaving the latter’s. “I have an idea! You're going to help me bake. Apparently, you're sweeter than sugar, right?”

 

Changbin narrows his eyes. “Are you planning to sprinkle me into your cookies?”

 

Felix smirks, the slightest twitch of his lips, before going for a full-blown smile. He drops Changbin’s hands and pushes his shoulder playfully. “No, silly, just you helping will be enough to sweeten the cookies. I'm sure everyone will be able to taste the hard work and love you put into them.”

 

“I don't think that's a good--”

 

And once again, nobody lets him finish his sentences. Felix takes a hold of Changbin’s hand, leading him down the chrome-lit halls with a skip in his steps. Changbin yawns multiple times, tired from lack of sleep, while Felix rambles as they walk. He talks about everything, from his experience in Korea after living in Australia for the majority of his life, to his recent obsession with this boy group called ‘Stray Kids’--whoever they are, Changbin really doesn’t care. He listens to Felix absentmindedly, preferring to take note of the way Felix’s voice lilts when he talks; it’s evident Korean isn’t his first language, and Changbin finds his accent kind of cute.

 

“Hyung, are you listening?”

 

“Somewhat.”

 

Felix frowns, feigning hurt, and Changbin resists the urge to pinch his cheeks and turn his frown upside down. (Because that's kind of weird and Felix might think that he likes him.)

 

Not that he’s had the slightest notion of liking Felix, let alone be in a relationship with him. He's just met the guy; he can't possibly like him already, not even a tiny bit. He's not some kind of twelve-year-old girl who falls in love with any cute boy, for God's sake. And no, he doesn't get fuzzy feelings when he holds Felix's hand. And no, he isn't disappointed when Felix drops his hand to unlock his apartment door. His hand does not feel cold and lonely all of a sudden--truly, he’s fine.

 

The living room is empty--Changbin vaguely remembers Felix talking about his roommate doing some last-minute Christmas shopping--while the kitchen is spotless. Changbin’s jaw drops in awe, and he traces his fingers against the ivory countertops.

 

“You can actually see the sink!” he says, leaning over Felix, who’s crouched by the said sink, rummaging for something in the cabinet below. Felix looks up in surprise.

 

“Is that not normal?”

 

“It probably is?” Changbin admires the stainless steel faucet. “I don’t know, my roommates and I leave all the dirty dishes in the sink so that you can’t even _see_ a glint of silver. Jeongin’s the worst, to be honest, he refuses to clean anything.”

 

“Oh, it’s because Chan hyung likes to keep it clean,” Felix says slowly, voice muffled as he sticks his head completely into the cabinet. “Where did I put them…” he mutters to himself.

 

Changbin raises an eyebrow. “Bang Chan? We’re friends, but I didn't know he was a neat freak. Fucking amazing. My current roommates suck, and I’ve been meaning to find a new roommate who’s clean and--”

 

“Actually, Chan hyung likes to keep it clean, but he doesn’t _do_ anything. He has enough stress dealing with his courses.” Felix sticks his head back out, affronted. “So, _I’m_ the one who ends up cleaning everything.”

 

“What are you implying, Felix?” Changbin asks with a smirk. (It doesn’t cross his mind that Felix is saying he would be a better roommate for Changbin.)

 

“Nothing,” Felix replies quickly. He pokes his head back into the cabinet and makes a small noise of an ‘aha’. He pulls out a pink apron and offers it to Changbin with a bright smile. Changbin squints at it, disgusted--it’s hot pink, with a white plaid pattern and cute bunnies sewn across the borders--so Felix rolls his eyes and throws the apron over Changbin’s shoulder.

 

Changbin shivers in revulsion. “I’m not wearing this _thing_.”

 

“It’s called an apron. You have to wear it before we can start baking,” Felix says casually. He’s already pulling out a matching pink apron and tying it around his waist. At the same time, he hums to himself, his socks skidding across the hardwood floor as he starts setting the ingredients on the counter.

 

A Christmas song soon begins to play in the background (Felix wiggles his eyebrows and says it's magic, even though Changbin can clearly see the Bluetooth speaker tucked behind the fruit basket).

 

“Dude, are you gonna help me or not?”

 

Felix finally faces him again, raised eyebrows and a hand on his hip. He looked cute before with his bright smile and blue beanie. Changbin swallows. Now, Felix Lee looks really, really cute in a pink apron.

 

“What are you staring at? Do I have something on my face?” Felix waves his hand over his face in panic. “We haven’t even started baking yet!”

 

Changbin manages to snap out of his daze, shaking his head and muttering a small, “It’s nothing.”

 

(He can imagine his so-called friends laughing at him and calling him whipped. Which is, by the way, total bullshit since he can’t possibly be whipped for a guy he’s just met. That would be so gay. Wait, he is gay...)

 

Changbin huffs out of his stupor again and closes his eyes. He’s exhausted--physically, mentally _and_ emotionally. Maybe if he just imagines he’s in bed and sleeping soundly, all his problems (and Felix) would go away.

 

“Hurry up, hyung, we don’t have all day. Put on the apron and start baking.”

 

Maybe if he tries to compare Felix’s voice to a mosquito’s buzz--

 

“Hyung.”

 

Or maybe if he just slaps the mosquito, it’d be quiet. Changbin scrunches his forehead and imagines his hand coming up--

 

“ _Changbin hyung._ ”

 

The voice is louder, too close. Changbin opens his eyes, startled, and finds Felix in front of him, inches away.

 

He inhales and instinctively leans back. _Too close, what the fuck._ “I'll put on the damn apron,” he huffs. “But just so you know, this goes against everything I stand for.”

 

When he finishes tying the atrocious pink _thing_ around his waist, he finds Felix blanking out on him--or staring at him, same difference. Changbin cocks an eyebrow, waves his hand over Felix's eyes and snaps his fingers. Felix blinks back dazedly. Changbin’s not sure whether to be flattered or embarrassed.

 

“Come on,” he drawls in a steady tone. He uses all his willpower to fight the blush down his neck. “We don’t have all day.”

 

Felix snaps out of his daze and smiles cheekily, reaching out to pinch his cheeks. “Changbin hyung looks cute in pink.”

 

Changbin swats his hand away with a growl. “Do you want to die?”

 

“Come on, hyung, where’s your holiday spirit?”

 

“How does this have anything to do wi--”

 

Without warning, Felix puts his index finger on Changbin’s lips. Changbin sputters in indignation, “Why do you keep on int--”

 

“Less talking, more doing,” Felix says seriously. “We don’t have all day. The Christmas party is tonight!”

 

“That’s what I just said!”

 

“Hush. What did I say about less talking? Now, would you be a dear and grab the vanilla extract from the cabinet over there?”

 

Baking with Felix turns out to be a disaster; half of the time, the boy doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing. He just scrutinizes the recipe book and orders Changbin around, because according to him, “ _You_ have to be the one doing the work if we’re going to make it _sweet_ ”, to which Changbin answers, “Fuck you”, and he’s left with a giggling Felix who can’t seem to get his mind out of the gutter.

 

They’re _not_ flirting, at all.

 

When Felix finally attempts to help, he’s more of an inconvenience than anything. He can’t crack an egg, so Changbin does it for him, and then he spills the flour, so the white powder wafts into the air. Changbin coughs drily. “You have no idea what you’re doing, don’t you?”

 

“Are you questioning me?”

 

“I’m not questioning you,” Changbin reiterates. “I’m saying, you have no absolute fucking clue what you’re doing.”

 

“Well, I’m sorry if I can’t crack an egg.”

 

Changbin looks over. Felix has his eyebrows scrunched and the slightest hint of a pout on his lips. It’s not by much, but the light around his presence seems to dim, and even his blue beanie droops to the side. Changbin sighs and looks back down. There’s still one more egg left to crack.

 

“Felix,” he says. “Come here.”

 

Felix looks up and warily approaches, brushing specks of flour down his apron. “Yeah?”

 

“Crack this egg.”

 

“Dude, that’s the last egg,” Felix says, as if he’s stupid. “If I mess up, there’s none left.”

 

“You’re not going to mess up.” He hands him the last egg.

 

The thing is, Changbin should have thought this through beforehand. He stands behind Felix, conflicted, as the latter holds the egg delicately, afraid to break it, and clearly, the easiest thing to do would be to wrap his arms around Felix and “help” him crack the egg. But that’s kind of gay. It's a good thing that Changbin’s not gay.

 

Oh, wait.

 

It’s a good thing he doesn’t like Felix that way. (That’s debatable but hush.)

 

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Felix whines.

 

“Hold on.”

 

Changbin swallows heavily, and before he can convince himself otherwise, wraps his arms around Felix. This is a normal thing to do between two friends, right? Sure, they've just met, but it doesn't cross the line or anything, right?

 

Oh, who is he kidding? There might as well be 'MOMENT' written in neon letters, hovering above them. The moment Changbin wraps his arm around Felix; the moment Felix leans into him; the moment Changbin guides Felix’s hands and--

 

He's holding him from quite a great distance away, and he can't see anything past Felix's blue beanie.

 

“You're not helping,” Felix cries out. “Come closer.”

 

Changbin relents, taking a step forward and breaking both of their personal bubbles. Felix's still a bit too tall (a _small_ height difference), so he’s forced to rest his chin on the younger’s shoulder.

 

“Like this,” he says quietly, carefully showing Felix how to crack the egg without actually doing it.

 

“Hyung, this is a terrible idea.”

 

It is. Plus, Changbin's pretty sure this kdrama worthy scene isn't necessary to crack one measly egg. He isn't even helping that much.

 

“You can do it,” Changbin says in a deadpan. “It's not that hard.”

 

“Wow, thanks. Really feeling the support here.”

 

“Just hurry up and try it.”

 

Felix leans over, moving Changbin along with him. He bites his lower lip in concentration, carefully maneuvering the egg over the bowl. He cracks the egg open, slowly letting the yolk fall into the bowl and not letting a single eggshell fall. All Changbin would have to do is blink, and he'd have missed it.

 

“I did it!” Felix cheers, his eyes folding into crescent moons and his lips curving up into a smile.

 

Changbin moves back, suddenly swept by the urge to kiss the smile on Felix's lips. Fuck. _This is bad._

 

Felix dabs.

 

Changbin no longer feels the urge. “Thank God,” he breathes out.

 

“What did you say?”

 

“Thank God,” Changbin repeats, enunciating every syllable, and adds, “We can finally move on now. It took you long enough.”

 

“Aren't you proud of me though?” Felix pokes his shoulder. “Say that you're proud of me, hyung!”

 

“Good job?” he says stupidly.

 

Felix beams again, flicking off his blue beanie and running his hand through his blond hair in a mock attempt to look cool. Changbin stares.

 

He knows he'd soon be the subject of unrequited love if this continues on. Every weird quirk Felix reveals of himself, along with every smile thrown his way, just might be death of him. (He's now past the stage of denial and has moved onto the stage of emotional constipation.)

 

The baking takes a lot longer than it should have (Felix's fault, not his; all the boy does is mess around and make bad puns), and before Changbin realizes what's going on, they’re wasting their time and laughing at the bad jokes Felix likes to make.

 

He can just imagine what his friends would say if they saw this; he's in a bright pink apron, baking cookies and laughing so hard that his sides are starting to hurt. All of this is because of the guy they're trying to pair him up with: Felix Lee aka a real cutie whom he has no chance with. What were his friends thinking? Do they want to have his heart broken?

 

Talking about his “friends”, he wonders if his roommates would let him back in by now. He checks the time and almost does a double take.

 

“It's past noon already?” _How did baking cookies take four fucking hours?_

 

Felix shrugs. “I guess.”

 

Changbin sighs. When he gets back, his roommates will probably bombard him with “what took you so long?” questions, along with waggling eyebrows and obnoxious winks.

 

Oblivious to Changbin's internal suffering, Felix places the last batch of gingerbread cookies into the oven, setting the timer on right after.

 

“We're done!” He wipes off his imaginary sweat with the back of his flour-covered hands.

 

“You have a smudge of cinnamon on your cheek,” Changbin points out.

 

Felix tilts his head. “Really? Where exactly?”

 

Changbin squints at him. “Upper right cheek.”

 

“I see,” Felix says slowly, and then smiles, turning his face to the side. “Wipe it off for me?”

 

“What? Why?”

 

“Pretty please?”

 

Changbin sighs in defeat and shuffles closer. “You’re such high maintenance.”

 

Before he has time to think, he kisses Felix on the cheek. The kiss lasts barely a second, and when he pulls back, the dab of brown is gone. He darts his tongue over his lips; it tastes like cinnamon.

 

Felix reddens to the colour of a bright red tomato, fingers briefly grazing the area Changbin had kissed.

 

“Happy?” Changbin asks sarcastically, nonchalantly leaning back on his heels and looking elsewhere. He shouldn’t have done that.

 

“Did you just ki--”

 

“I should head back,” Changbin cuts him off. It feels good to interrupt someone after being disrespected all morning. He pats Felix’s shoulder awkwardly and turns tail to the door. Hopefully, Felix would have a bit of common sense left in his brain to figure out that he should pretend this never happened.

 

“Wait!”

 

Changbin throws his hand out in farewell but doesn’t bother facing Felix nor stopping. He’s not sure if he can handle seeing Felix’s brightness dimming again because of his stupid actions.

 

“Changbin hyung! Please come to my Christmas party at 6:15 pm. Don’t you want to taste the cookies when they're done?”

 

There’s a beat of silence as Feliz Navidad continues to play in the background. Changbin pauses, hand ready on the door handle. He bites his lip. _It’s too early in the morning for this._ Except it’s now past noon.

 

Should he? _I mean, Felix doesn't seem to mind me kissing his cheek, so it should be fine._

 

He can’t bear to see Hyunjin and Jisung’s reaction when they find out that he, out of all people, has agreed to go to a social event out of his own free will.

 

“Please…”

 

Oh, fuck it.

 

“I’ll be there,” he says simply.

 

When he leaves, Felix's shrieks of victory can be heard from a mile away, bleeding through the paper thin walls and reverberating around the apartment. At ease, Changbin rests his back against the corridor wall outside of his room. Maybe, just _maybe_ , Felix likes him back.

 

❉❉❉

 

“Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck,” Felix mutters underneath his breath as he paces around their living room. He tweaks the stockings, turns the mini Christmas tree to the side, wipes down the table, and finds a suspicious stain on the wall and covers it with a random Stray Kids poster (he loves them, sue him). He’s just a bundle of nerves waiting to explode. “ _Fuck._ ”

 

“No swearing,” Chan pipes up as he scrolls through a list of Christmas songs on his phone. He’s lying uselessly on the couch, because apparently, he’s too tired from all the “shopping” he did. (“You should be grateful I helped your pining ass at all,” Chan retorts.)

 

Which, to be honest, is true, but that’s a story for another time. Why? Because Felix has precisely two minutes before the clock hits 6:15 pm, and he’s not ready to see Changbin again.

 

Seo Changbin aka the potential love of his life. (Or more realistically, the crush of his life.)

 

A guy who he’s just met today, but has been pining on for about two, maybe three, months. And that’s a long time in Felix’s standards. They’re literally in the same friend group; they should have met a long time ago.

 

The doorbell rings once, then twice. There’s a short pause, and then it rings one more time. That’s his and Hyunjin’s secret code for:

 

“Seo fucking Changbin.” Felix nearly faints on the spot.

 

Chan toots, “I said, no swearing.”

 

“ _Fudge_ cakes,” chokes Felix. He brushes down his red Christmas sweater, secures his Santa hat, and takes a deep breath. _I can do this,_ he chants repeatedly, over and over, until he’s ready. _I can open the door and see Changbin hyung’s face._

 

Chan opens the door.

 

“Hyung!”

 

“Oh, sorry, did you want to open the door first? You never wanted to do that before.”

 

He has the nerve to look quizzical, that oblivious dumbass. Felix wants to whack him with a cushion, really, he’s extremely tempted, but he holds himself back for the sake of looking a little bit sane in front Changbin. (It’s not like he has already made a fool out of himself earlier today.)

 

“Hey, Felix,” Hyunjin sings as soon as he sees him, Changbin and Jeongin in tow. “Can’t wait to taste those cookies you and Changbin made.”

 

“Changbin hyung gets the first bite,” Felix snaps. He pauses and adds, “Because he helped me make them.”

 

“Help,” Changbin scoffs. “More like, I did everything.”

 

“Nonsense, I cracked an egg, remember?” says Felix lightly.

 

“I was the one who helped you crack the egg.”

 

“Exactly. You helped me,” he emphasizes the word ‘help’.

 

He wins the argument when Changbin gives him a small smile (the world has been blessed) and shakes his head gently.

 

By some Christmas miracle, all of the invitees arrive together, and on time. They trickle into the living room, fluffy haired and clad in bright coloured Christmas sweaters. Felix catches Minho’s eyes, who mouths, “ _you're welcome_ ,” as he points at Changbin's black and white reindeer sweater. Felix guesses he’s the one who had managed to convince Changbin to wear a Christmas sweater, albeit it being black.

 

Felix dabs to show his thanks.

 

“Felix.” Seungmin slides to his side and nudges his arm. “Better grab those gingerbread cookies before they're all gone. I heard Jisung already took one, and you know he's unstoppable once he gets started.”

 

“Oh, sh--” Felix can practically feel Chan’s cold gaze piercing through him, “--shiitake mushroom. Thanks, Minnie. I owe you one.”

 

He speedwalks to the kitchen and sure enough, there's Jisung, his cheeks stuffed with cookies, as he tries (and fails) to feed Jeongin a cookie too.

 

“Get your filthy hands off of my cookies.” Felix snatches the plate out of Jisung's grasp. He takes three cookies before handing the plate back to Jeongin (an absolute angel; someone he can put his trust in).

 

Felix locks gazes with Jeongin. “Promise to keep these away from Jisung.”

 

Jeongin nods seriously, ignoring Jisung's offended gasp, and Felix ruffles his hair in pride before heading back out. He doesn't have to look back to know that Jeongin’s going to break his promise (Jeongin always falls for Jisung's pathetic puppy eyes), but it's the thought that counts.

 

“Changbin hyung,” Felix calls out, running towards the said boy. In his rush, he nearly does a face plant on the table. Woojin, who’s standing nearby, doesn’t move a muscle and chortles at the sidelines. Felix sends him a quick, yet scathing, glare, and forges on, “Here, have a bite.”

 

Changbin takes the offered gingerbread cookie. He crunches on it and after a moment, hums, “It’s sweet.”

 

“Told you so.”

 

“That’s-- impossible. We didn’t add any sugar.”

 

“Oh, right.”

 

Felix latches onto Changbin’s hand, dragging him to the corner of the room, beside the Christmas tree. They're still within the others’ earshot, but at least the tree gives them some semblance of privacy.

 

He cups his hand over Changbin’s ear and whispers, “Remember the flour that I accidentally spilt?”

 

“Yeah?” Changbin says, confused.

 

Felix leans back and says simply, “That was sugar.”

 

“What?”

 

“The flour that I added too much of--and that you scolded me for adding too much of--was actually sugar.”

 

Changbin narrows his eyes. “I thought you didn’t have any sugar. That’s why you knocked on my door at a godforsaken hour--”

 

“It was 8:00 am, hyung.”

 

“Did I stutter? You knocked on my door at a _godforsaken_ hour, just to ask for some sugar, because…” he trails off, a look of realization dawning on his face.

 

Felix raises his eyebrows and gestures for him to proceed.

 

“Because _Hyunjin_ said he had some sugar,” Changbin says.

 

“Right.” Felix tries to appear as cool as possible. Changbin stares at him, the gears in his mind turning slowly, and Felix wipes a sweat drop from his cheek.

 

“You-- Felix, before I jump to conclusions, just tell me the truth.”

 

 _Fudge cakes. Here goes nothing._ He inhales through his nose and exhales through his mouth. “Long story short, I’ve had a mild crush on you since I first saw you perform with Chan hyung and Jisung at the school talent show. I don't know how to describe it, but you stood out with your charisma, and I was immediately drawn towards you.”

 

Changbin opens his mouth, probably to interrupt or ask unnecessary questions, so Felix shushes him by shoving a second cookie into his mouth. “Please let me finish before asking any questions.”

 

 _I’m so screwed._ “And you might have already noticed, but we’re both in the same friend group, except you’ve known all these ‘amazing’ people,” he vaguely motions at their stupid ass friends, “for a much longer time than I have. I mean, I just moved here at the beginning of the year, so of course, you’d...”

 

Changbin doesn’t do anything, except for raising one skeptical eyebrow.

 

“... I digress. Anyway, you might be wondering why I didn't befriend you like a normal person--it would have been easy to--and the thing is, I wanted our first meeting to be special, so I avoided you like the plague until Hyunjin helped me figure out a plan.”

 

A rather loud cough erupts from the kitchen, then another in the living room, and then another until the whole room is filled with the sounds of coughing.

 

“ _Everyone_ in our friend group helped me come up with a plan.”

 

The coughing doesn't relent.

 

“Everyone _also_ played a big part in getting the plan to work.”

 

There's still one more person coughing.

 

Felix rolls his eyes. “Chan hyung even had to sacrifice himself and leave for four hours, just so that we could bake alone.”

 

The coughing ceases immediately, and the quiet buzz of conversation resumes.

 

“So this ended up happening,” Felix stuffs a third cookie in Changbin's mouth when the latter tries to speak again,  “and honestly, it was kind of a stupid idea, and I don't know why they let me do it, but I have to tell you one last thing.”

 

“I really like you, and I'd like to get to know you better. I understand if you think I'm weird--hell, I _know_ I'm weird--but I hope you can give me a chance.” He raises his eyes to the ceiling and braces himself for rejection. “I'd like to take you out on a date one day, Changbin hyung, please.”

 

 _Ah, fuck._ He said it; he finally confessed to Changbin. _Time to throw myself off a cliff._

 

He didn’t even explain himself properly; like an idiot, he brushed over the details and went straight to a confession. What was he thinking? What were his friends thinking, encouraging this kind of behaviour? Just because Changbin’s gay (proven multiple times), doesn’t mean he’d be interested in someone like Felix.

 

Justin Bieber’s ‘Mistletoe’ plays in the background, and Felix wants to scream in frustration. Chan’s in charge of the music and not helping his situation at all.

 

“Okay,” says Changbin.

 

Felix blinks. “What?”

 

“I said, okay.”

 

His jaw drops. “You don't find me weird? Or creepy?”

 

“Not creepy, but I do find you weird,” Changbin chuckles, a low and raspy sound (and honestly, Felix is _so_ in love).

 

“So,” Felix drags out, “then why?”

 

“Because you're weird in a good way. And I think I might like you too,” Changbin says, shrugging, but his smile soon grows fond and he tugs Felix’s Santa hat over his eyes.

 

Felix squeaks, “So, you're saying--”

 

“For fuck’s sake, Felix, he said, okay!” That sounds like Woojin, which is surprisingly not that surprising. (Woojin seems to be the most emotionally invested in them. He had even dubbed their ship name as ‘Changlix’ before Felix had even known of his crush on Changbin.)

 

“Don't you dare swear in front of the child!”

 

“Chan hyung, I'm not a child.” Jeongin pops his head out of the kitchen, indignant.

 

“Hush, Jeongin, you're, like, five.”

 

“I'm already eighteen!”

 

“Hence, a child--”

 

Felix blocks out their argument and turns back to Changbin. The elder has a small smile on his face, and Felix manages to stutter out, “Okay.”

 

“Felix hyung,” screeches Jeongin, “Jisung hyung’s eating the last cookie!”

 

“Fu--” Felix shakes his head. “--dge. Hyung, we gotta stop Jisung. Our pride is on the line!”

 

Before Changbin can reply, he’s leading him towards the kitchen.

 

“How is our pri--” Changbin starts, only to be interrupted midway, again.

 

“Mistletoe!” their friends scream, Jisung’s voice being the most prominent.

 

They skid to a stop, and Felix lifts his head up at the entrance of the kitchen. Sure enough, a small mistletoe hangs from the archway, swaying innocently in the air. He doesn’t remember putting it up, nor does he remember planning this with his friends. _How?_

 

“It was my idea,” Jisung helpfully supplies, leaning back on the kitchen counter as he munches on the last gingerbread cookie, the crumbs falling to the ground. Felix twitches his eyebrows; Chan’s going to make him clean that up later.

 

And Jeongin, the sweetest angel, had conspired with Jisung behind his back? Jeongin smiles apologetically beside him. "You're welcome?” he tries.

 

Justin Bieber’s ‘Mistletoe’ is still playing in the background, and it’s like everyone has quieted down, anxiously waiting for the kiss to happen.

 

“ _With you, shawty with you_ ,” Bieber’s high-pitched voice echoes throughout the room.

 

Felix tries to play off the tension with a laugh. “You don't have to if you don't wanna. I understand,” he tells Changbin.

 

And really, he does. It’s too much to ask Changbin to kiss him when he’s literally known that he exists just this morning.

 

Except Changbin doesn’t immediately discard the idea.

 

“I’m fine with it,” Changbin says softly. He takes a step forward, but otherwise, doesn’t make another move.

 

This is stressful; more so than any exam Felix has ever taken, but he refuses to back down from a challenge. Not when the challenge it to kiss Changbin. He keeps on waiting for the elder to push him away and brush it off as some dumb joke, but somehow, Changbin isn’t annoyed nor does he back off. And it goes like that; Felix’s hand moves to hold on Changbin’s shoulder as he bends down, just a little, so that he can kiss Changbin. Their lips are a hairbreadth away from one another, but Felix can’t bring himself to go any further. Changbin’s warm breath smells like candy canes, making his face feel hot, cheeks reddening.

 

 _Fudge cakes,_ Felix thinks, _I’ve done it now. I’ve completely wrecked my chance with Changbin. He’s regretting everything, I can tell; our date is cancelled--_

 

But then Changbin kisses him, quick and chaste, a peck on the lips. And then he pulls away, smiling smugly, a tint of red dusting over his cheeks.

 

Felix licks his lips. “ _Sweet,_ ” he can’t help but mouth.

 

The room bursts into cheers as their friends gather around them, pulling them into one-armed hugs and clapping their backs in congratulations. Fuck, Felix even sees Woojin and Minho shedding a tear from the corner of their eyes, and Chan nodding his head like a proud parent. He half hates them but in a loving way. Without them, this wouldn’t have ever happened.

 

Despite the sudden noise and chatter, Changbin manages to hold onto his arms and pull him close, pressing him against his chest. Felix feels his face warming again.

 

“What did you just say?” Changbin asks quietly into his ear, his breath tickling the side of his neck.

 

“What?”

 

“After the kiss,” he falters slightly, leaning back. “You said something, right? What did you say?”

 

_Oh._

 

Felix flicks Changbin’s forehead with his finger, a smile permanently marked on his face. He then pulls him close by the back of the neck.

 

“I said,” he laughs, carefree and high on Seo Changbin, high on sugar, high on everything, “Changbin hyung, you truly are sweeter than sugar.”

**Author's Note:**

> ( to be edited later )
> 
> I apologise for the word vomit and the slow pacing and the weird plot and everything, but I hope you've managed to enjoy it anyway ahhhhh.
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are much appreciated. And check out my stray kids [Tumblr](https://straykidzz.tumblr.com), if you wanna ;-)


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